Week 6 was the season's wildest so far, as we saw two ranked matchups along with multiple unranked teams taking down their ranked opponents.
Georgia established itself as the best team in college football following a big SEC road victory over Alabama, while then-No. 1 Texas had a bright light shone on where it needs improvement following an upset by unranked Oklahoma.
UCLA handed Oregon its second loss of the season as the Bruins remained undefeated under first-year coach Bob Chesney. And LSU's playoff chances must be reassessed as Lane Kiffin's Tigers suffered their second loss, falling in overtime to Kentucky.
Following surprising outcomes and questionable performances, our college football experts break down key takeaways from Week 6.
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Red River Rivalry result | CFP
SEC favorites
UCLA | Notre Dame-BYU
Does the Red River Rivalry result say more about Texas or Oklahoma?
Texas. Give coach Brent Venables and the Sooners' defense and special teams units credit for creating the havoc that spurred Oklahoma's improbable upset over the top-ranked Longhorns. But this loss falls squarely at the feet of Texas and raises questions for coach Steve Sarkisian, defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, quarterback Arch Manning and the rest of a Longhorns team that tripped over itself Saturday.
Questions such as:
Are there holes in a Longhorns' defense -- widely considered among the best in the country entering Week 6 -- that held Oklahoma QB John Mateer & Co. in check but struggled to get critical stops in big moments against a supremely limited offense? How much should we read into the special teams errors and late-game miscues -- specifically Manning's pair of fourth-quarter interceptions (including a 42-yard pick-six by Peyton Bowen)? And what sort of liability is a Texas run game (32 carries, 122 yards, 3.8 yards per run) that still hasn't taken off despite the high-profile offseason additions of transfer rushers Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown?
Waiting in front of the Longhorns are five straight games against SEC opponents that began Week 6 ranked in the AP Top 25, starting next weekend at home against the suddenly reeling Florida Gators. That means we'll soon have firmer answers to the most pressing questions sprouting from the Red River Rivalry defeat. But after struggling for long stretches in last month's win over Ohio State, Texas showed cracks again inside the Cotton Bowl, offering further evidence that the Longhorns, who opened Saturday with fifth-best national title odds, are still a work in progress. -- Eli Lederman
Which two-loss team has the best chance to rebound and make the CFP?
The odds are against LSU making the playoff following the overtime loss at Kentucky. But the Tigers have the talent and the opportunity to still make a run at a playoff spot.
LSU's remaining schedule includes home games against Alabama and Texas. If LSU runs the table, it will be a lock for the CFP.
However, precedent suggests that three defeats are too many for any team to make the playoff. So LSU likely doesn't have much margin for error, if any.
But two losses on the road against quality opponents shouldn't eliminate the Tigers just yet. Lane Kiffin & Co. could still be heard from in the postseason conversation. -- Jake Trotter
Even after Week 6, are Alabama and Georgia the clear SEC favorites?
The math certainly suggests they are. ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) has Georgia with an 88.2% chance to make the SEC title game and Alabama at 48.6%. Texas (28.7%) is the only other school with a better than 1-in-10 shot.
The competition is thin. The SEC has a lot of solid teams, but nothing about how Texas has played so far -- even in wins over Ohio State and Tennessee -- suggests the Longhorns are capable of elite-level football for 60 minutes, while LSU, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida and Mississippi State all appear far short of the caliber of football we saw from the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide on Saturday night. Ole Miss, with its blowout loss to Florida looking worse now (though is still entirely understandable given the Rebels' game against LSU a week earlier), might be the one exception -- but even that seems like a bit of a stretch.
Then there's history. Either Georgia or Alabama have appeared in every SEC championship game for the past 12 years. Georgia has been in five straight. The Bulldogs and the Tide have played each other in the SEC title game four times since 2018. They're the class of the SEC, and it would be hard to argue differently.
But more than all of that was what we witnessed Saturday: Georgia-Alabama was a heavyweight bout between two elite teams. Alabama has clearly addressed its biggest offseason concern -- the lack of physicality up front and in the run game -- and quarterback Keelon Russell has emerged as a bona fide star while still barely scratching the surface of his potential. Georgia, meanwhile, appears to have a real depth of playmakers at the skill positions for the first time since 2022, Gunner Stockton is playing his best football and the Dawgs just won on the road without their top two tailbacks.
Saturday's action certainly offered its share of reminders that in 2026, there are no sure things. But Georgia and Alabama also offered an antidote to that "any given Saturday" notion by trading blows in a game in which both sides came out looking like national championship contenders. -- David Hale
Should we consider UCLA a legit contender?
This UCLA team is far from perfect. How could it be when you bring in a new coach and a slew of new players and staff, throw it all in a bowl and mix it together? Yet its rapid construction is only serving to further highlight the remarkable story that is unfolding in Westwood.
Bob Chesney has UCLA playing harder and better than most teams that have continuity and experience to spare. Case in point: a 17-15 road win on Saturday over an Oregon team that had title aspirations and had rarely lost at home. The Bruins are doing it thanks to a clear belief in Chesney's system and approach. But it's also because the two strongest parts of their team are simple but effective bedrocks for success: Through five games, UCLA has a top-10 rushing attack in the country and a top-15 rushing defense. That's a pretty good recipe and one that, as Chesney's coaching history has shown, can work well at any level.
Having Nico Iamaleava at quarterback is important, but as we saw Saturday against Oregon, when he went down with an injury, the Bruins' success does not rely on him. Wayne Knight, a running back by way of James Madison, has been the offensive compass. He has rushed for 380 yards and four touchdowns over the past three games. And the defense? It has forced 19 turnovers, tied for the most in the country.
"It's different this time; this is not the normal UCLA," Chesney said in the postgame TV interview Saturday. "When you add in all of the recruiting and the West Coast and the things that we get looked over on, that's all changing right now."
So, is UCLA a legit contender? The schedule the rest of the way creates a clear path to the playoff if it keeps winning. But whether you're inclined to give the Bruins the label or not, right now, they are a team that no one wants to face. -- Paolo Uggetti
Notre Dame will beat BYU if _________? BYU will beat Notre Dame if _________?
In looking at one of Week 7's highly anticipated matchups, the Fighting Irish will win if their running back committee can break off some big gains and if they limit BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier's ability to beat them with his legs. After losing NFL first-round draft picks Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, Notre Dame has spent the first half of the season trying different backs and attempting to generate more big plays on the ground.
Notre Dame ranks 124th nationally in percentage of runs of 10 yards or longer, but it tallied touchdown runs of 97 and 40 yards from Jonaz Walton against Stanford and a 31-yard burst from Nolan James Jr. It will need some chunk plays against a BYU defense ranked 10th nationally in rushing defense (80.4 yards per game) and 19th in average yards allowed per rush (2.9).
BYU's path to success hinges on a defense that hasn't allowed more than 23 points in any game, including holding its past two opponents to 10 points. The Cougars have 21 pass breakups and six interceptions, and they need to disrupt quarterback CJ Carr's increasingly good rhythm with his receivers. Without standout running back LJ Martin, BYU must identify other rushing options to help Bachmeier -- who averages 6.6 yards per carry -- and stay on the field against a Notre Dame defense that ranks third nationally against the run (58.3 YPG).
"We can do some really good things when the defense is playing at that level," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said after Friday's win against Iowa State, later adding, "This is what we expect our defense to be doing from here on out." -- Adam Rittenberg